Microsoft reviews

Microsoft has a lot to offer to anyone looking to learn the business of "big" software development. In my experience, the biggest benefits to working at MSFT is the networking and organizational mechanics visibility you get. I have met a ton of incredibly talented people who later on became important resources for future opportunities (within and outside of MSFT). It felt much like college to me - a time to learn a lot, meet a lot of contacts and grow as an individual. The resources and opportunities are huge at MSFT, though much of the time you realize you are a very small fish in a very large pond. Big aspirations can be squashed frequently after the reality of the organism that is MSFT becomes apparent. But again, the opportunities environmentally outweigh the unfortunate lack of ability for any one person to change the reality of what MSFT is - a giant steam ship that takes years to make a turn.

At MSR, you have a chance to work with the best and the brightest -- the caliber of people that would otherwise be on the faculty at a top-tier research university. MSR is pretty much the only surviving old-style industrial research lab in the tradition of Bell Labs and PARC. The compensation starts out good and becomes great as the stock awards ramp up.